Homes for the homeless

While Romania has a growing middle class and large natural resources, poverty remains a major issue in this country of 21.6 million people. More than 15 per cent of the population lives below the poverty line, and some 2.4 million Romanians live in extreme poverty. Heavy floods during the last five years have added to the problem of homelessness in the country, and those that do have a roof over their head often live in cramped conditions without access to piped water.

The charity Habitat for Humanity International, which seeks to eliminated poverty housing and homelessness around the world, started operations in Romania in 1996. Since then HFH Romania has helped more than 1,000 families in need into simple, decent shelter, by building new homes, renovating apartments and engaging in disaster recovery efforts.

Employees at Volvo Construction Equipment in Konz in Germany decided to support the charity’s efforts to build homes in Romania.

The interest among employees was so high that the company had to draw lots to see who would get to participate. Twenty employees voluntarily spent a week in July helping to build apartments in the city of Cluj-Napoca for families with children who had nowhere to live.